A federal indictment unsealed on January 14, 2016 in Kansas federal court alleges a Wichita doctor diverted prescription drugs to the streets, resulting in one of his patients dying from an overdose. Eight people who got prescriptions from the doctor also are charged with unlawfully distributing prescription drugs.
In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.
Dr.
Steven R. Henson who operated Kansas Men’s Clinic in Wichita is charged with:
Conspiracy
to distribute prescription drugs outside the course of medical practice (Counts
1 and 2); Unlawfully
distributing oxycodone (Counts 3 through 15); Unlawfully
distributing oxycodone, methadone and alprazolam (Count 16); Unlawfully
distributing methadone and alprazolam, resulting in the death of a
victim on July 24, 2015, identified in court records as N.M. (Count 17); Unlawful
possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking (Count 18); Presenting
false patient records to investigators (Count 19); Obstruction
of justice (Count 20); and Money
laundering (Counts 21 through 31).
The indictment alleges Dr. Henson:
Wrote prescriptions without a medical need;
Wrote prescriptions without a legitimate medical exam; Wrote prescriptions in return for cash;
Post-dated
prescriptions; and
Wrote
prescriptions for people other than the ones who came to see him.
The eight patients are named as co-conspirators in some of the same counts as the physician. The counts charged against the physician carry sentence exposure up to a maximum of 20 years.
